Richert, Peter H. (1871-1949)
Peter H. Richert: a teacher and leader in the General Conference Mennonite Church; born 11 August 1871 at Gnadenheim, Molotschna Mennonite Settlement, South Russia, the son of Heinrich Richert and Helena (Unruh) Richert. On 16 August 1900, he married Eva Schmidt (30 June 1872, Paulsheim, Molotschna, South Russia - 21 December 1956, Wichita, Kansas, USA), daughter of Heinrich Schmidt (1841-1921) and Maria (Voth) Schmidt (1845-1925), in Goessel, Kansas. Peter and Eva had five children: Stella, Anton, Elma, Otto, and Samuel. Peter died on 24 October 1949 in Goessel, Kansas.
In 1874 Peter came to America aboard the S. S. Cimbria with his parents, with whom he experienced the hardships of pioneer life. He grew up near Goessel, Kansas, was baptized in 1889, attended Halstead Seminary, and completed the Bible course at Bethel College in 1897.
Richert taught five years in the district schools and fifteen years at the Bethel College Academy. In 1896 he was elected evangelist in his home church of Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church and several years later elected minister of this church. In 1908 he was elected as pastor of the newly organized Tabor Mennonite Church, and on 2 October 1910, ordained as its elder; he served here until 1946, when he suffered a stroke which partially paralyzed him.
Peter Richert's dream of serving as a foreign missionary never materialized, but was partly fulfilled in the tremendous amount of work which he did as secretary of the Foreign Mission Board in 1910-46. Reports sent in by the foreign missionaries were published in the Mission Quarterly, which he edited 1924-31. In 1913 he served as vice-president for the All-Mennonite Convention. 1914-18 found him president of the Kansas Ministers' Conference, and 1920-29 president of the Bethel College board of directors. For seven years he was president of the Western District Conference. Richert's preaching was mainly expository; very frequently he preached about the cause he loved most, namely, missions. He was also deeply interested in the promotion of peace. In 1940 he wrote a catechism entitled Some Difficult Passages Concerning the Use of the Sword.
Bibliography
GRANDMA (The Genealogical Registry and Database of Mennonite Ancestry) Database, 7.04 ed. Fresno, CA: " California Mennonite Historical Society, 2013: #48337.
| Author(s) | R. E F. |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
F., R. E. "Richert, Peter H. (1871-1949)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Richert,_Peter_H._(1871-1949)&oldid=101894.
APA style
F., R. E. (1959). Richert, Peter H. (1871-1949). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Richert,_Peter_H._(1871-1949)&oldid=101894.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 325. All rights reserved.
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